| Tournament information | |
|---|---|
| Dates | August 11–14, 1977 |
| Location | Pebble Beach, California 36°34′05″N 121°57′00″W / 36.568°N 121.950°W |
| Course(s) | Pebble Beach Golf Links |
| Organized by | PGA of America |
| Tour(s) | PGA Tour |
| Statistics | |
| Par | 72 |
| Length | 6,806 yards (6,223 m)[1][2] |
| Field | 138 players, 71 after cut |
| Cut | 151 (+7) |
| Prize fund | $250,000[3] |
| Winner's share | $45,000 |
| Champion | |
 Lanny Wadkins | |
| 282 (−6), playoff | |
| Location map | |
  Pebble Beach Location in the United States  Pebble Beach Location in California | |
The 1977 PGA Championship was the 59th PGA Championship, played August 11–14 at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California. Lanny Wadkins, 27, won his only major championship in a sudden-death playoff over Gene Littler.[4] It was the first playoff at the PGA Championship in ten years and was the first-ever sudden-death playoff in a stroke-play major championship.[1][5] The last was 36 years earlier at the 1941 PGA Championship, when the 36-hole final match went to two extra holes.
Prior to the start of the championship, the irons of several top players were deemed to have non-conforming groove dimensions, most notably those of Tom Watson. He had won the Masters and British Open earlier that year, and was attempting to become the first to win three majors in the same year since Ben Hogan in 1953. Others with non-conforming irons included major winners Raymond Floyd, Hale Irwin, Gary Player, and Tom Weiskopf.[6][7] The rule limiting groove width to .035 inches (0.89 mm) had been around for decades. Watson shot an opening round of 68 (−4) with an old set of borrowed irons,[7][8][9] and finished at 286 (−2), four strokes back in a tie for sixth. He won eight majors but never a PGA Championship; his only win in the U.S. Open came here at Pebble Beach in 1982.
Four-time champion Jack Nicklaus finished one stroke out of the playoff at 283 (−5). He won the previous major at this course, the U.S. Open in 1972, and was runner-up to Watson at the next in 1982.
This was the 13th consecutive professional major won by American-born players. The streak began with Lee Trevino's victory at the 1974 PGA Championship and continued as the Americans swept the majors in 1975, 1976, and the previous majors in 1977. This remains the second longest major-winning streak for Americans; the longest was in the 1940s and ended with Lew Worsham's win at the 1947 U.S. Open.
This was the second major championship at Pebble Beach, which had hosted the U.S. Open in 1972. The U.S. Open returned in 1982, 1992, 2000, 2010, and 2019. It was only the second PGA Championship in California and the first as a stroke-play competition; the previous was in December 1929 in Los Angeles at Hillcrest. The 1962 event was originally awarded to Brentwood in L.A., but was moved to Philadelphia at Aronimink.[10][11]
The fairways at Pebble Beach were extremely dry, due to an extended drought, in its third year in northern California.[12]
- ^ a b Parascenzo, Marino (August 15, 1977). "Littler comes apart, Wadkins captures PGA". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 20.
- ^ "Tournament Info for: 1977 PGA Championship". PGA.com. Archived from the original on December 1, 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2013.
- ^ Parascenzo, Marino (August 12, 1977). "Littler leads at PGA". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 10.
- ^ "Wadkins wins PGA playoff". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. August 15, 1977. p. 1C.
- ^ Jenkins, Dan (August 22, 1977). "The battle of the ages". Sports Illustrated. p. 12.
- ^ Parascenso, Marino (August 11, 1977). "PGA bigwigs club Watson". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 15.
- ^ a b "Watson survives hassle". Milwaukee Journal. AP and UPI. August 12, 1977. p. 8-part 2.
- ^ "Watson proves himself". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. August 12, 1977. p. 1-part 2.
- ^ "Watson trails by one stroke". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. Associated Press. August 12, 1977. p. 23.
- ^ "PGA opens its doors to Negroes, world golfers". Florence Times. Alabama. Associated Press. November 10, 1961. p. 4, section 2.
- ^ "PGA group abolishes 'Caucasian'". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Florida. Associated Press. November 10, 1961. p. 22.
- ^ "Drought leaves Pebble Beach fairways brown". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. Florida. Associated Press. August 10, 1977. p. 4B.